Your Milwaukee Panthers started the '21-'22 college hoops season off right in Grand Forks, ND Tuesday night.
The Panthers got out to a good if not smooth start with Baldwin Jr. (21pts, 10reb, 1blk), DeAndre Gholston (14pts, 6reb) and Donavon Newby (12pts, 4ast) all connecting from long distance and some great post work by Moses Bol. Starting PF Joey St. Pierre got in some foul trouble and Samba Kane did not see action. But the bigs who did play, played well.
Jordan Lathon manned the point effectively turning the ball over just once and adding 6pts and 7reb. Lathon shared PG duties with Newby and occasionally PBJ which created some interesting mis-matchups. With Josh Thomas also able to man the point, we should have the ball in good hands. There were just 8 Panther turnovers tonight.
But things got a little too close for comfort in the closing minutes of the first frame. North Dakota drew a pair of questionable offensive foul calls, knocked down their free shots and then some, and Milwaukee found itself up only 6 in the closing seconds before halftime at which point PBJ waltzed to the hoop to lay in an easy, assertive 2 putting the Panthers up by eight, 36-28.
In the second half Baldwin Jr. got the Panthers to heat back up with a pair of jump shots which stretched the Panthers lead back to 15. The Fighting Hawks of Grand Forks however, would not go away quietly.
Again and again North Dakota would cut into the lead eventually making it a single digit game with just 6:48 left. After a full timeout break, Milwaukee would then turn to Gholston and Baldwin Jr. who recorded most of the final points for Milwaukee. The Panthers made free throws down the stretch to separate for good and close out this victory #1, 75-60.
In sum total tonight, Milwaukee pressed its will by overpowering and outshooting North Dakota. PBJ chalked up his first collegiate double-double in his 1st college game. DeAndre Gholston and Vin Baker Jr (aka VBJ) added 17 and 12 respectively. JT added 7 and some of our best players didn't see the floor (Tafari Simms left early in the game due a minor injury).
In the showcase tonight there was a lot to be optimistic about. We only shot 43.5% and barely outrebounded a team we should have doubled up in rebounds. ND shot 8-29 (29%) against a stingy Panther defense. What we saw tonight, despite a few miscues, reflected what we all saw coming this season on paper. It looks to me like things will only get better from here. 🤞
Get out to watch Milwaukee's Homecoming Game at the Panther Arena this Saturday at 6pm vs. Eastern Kentucky. If this team gets some momentum and consistency going, they'll be virtually unstoppable.
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